Chapter 213 Heavenly Pool "Legend has it that in ancient times, Heavenly Pool was originally the territory of many dragons..."
When Shen Lixia opened her eyes again, she moved slightly and something slipped off her body.
Startled, she looked up and heard the horse's hooves stop. The carriage shuddered, indicating they had arrived at their destination. As she regained consciousness, Shen Lixia saw a pair of dark eyes silently watching her, a half-smile playing on their lips.
"Awake?" Qiao Yanshen said softly, "We're almost at Tianchi, let's go."
When Shen Lixia sat up, she shrugged and raised her hand to rub her neck and shoulders, as if the boy had slept for too long and she was afraid of waking him, so she remained motionless, causing the area to feel sore and numb. These actions made Shen Lixia's face flush.
"I'm so sorry," Shen Lixia said softly. She raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, and after confirming that nothing was wrong, she was relieved that at least she hadn't drooled. She was worried about that now, because Simmons had called her a little drooling bird last time.
It was a very foolish idea. She would have dismissed it, but she still worried about it in front of Qiao Yanshen. Just like many other miscellaneous things, she didn't pay attention to them on ordinary days, but only cared about them when she was with her senior sister.
Noticing that what had just slipped off was Qiao Yanshen's outer robe that he had been covering her with, Shen Lixia picked it up, patted it carefully, and handed it over, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Qiao Yanshen stopped teasing her. "It's okay. You're warm, and it's comfortable to be close to you."
She changed the subject, her voice softening, yet clearly landing in Shen Lixia's heart, "Junior Sister Shen."
Shen Lixia: ......
She was the one who was initially angry.
But when the two of them actually distanced themselves and Qiao Yanshen took the initiative to back down, she became heartbroken. There were no harsh words as in a typical argument, just a "thank you" and a distant "Junior Sister Shen," and she subconsciously bit her lip, suppressing the stinging in her eyes.
Calling her that makes it seem like she's no different from the other disciples.
After the initial sadness, a wave of resentment and grievance washed over her. Shen Lixia paused, turning her hand away from the outer garment she was about to drape over her shoulders. She quickly folded the clean white clothes in her hand before handing them over.
“When we get to a market, we’ll pick out a hand warmer.” She turned her head away. “So that you won’t have to put up with me getting close just because you don’t like physical contact, Senior Sister Qiao.”
Qiao Yanshen raised an eyebrow, listening to the heavy sound of her footsteps. Shen Lixia was annoyed and, without waiting for her to get off, jumped down from the carriage with a loud thud, as if her anger had landed and set the entire winter meadow ablaze.
She had just rushed out when Shen Lixia covered her face. Xi Mengsi and Su Jiang were already standing on the road. Seeing her desperate expression, Xi Mengsi asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
“I…” Shen Lixia said dejectedly, “It seems I spoke too harshly.”
A gentle breeze brushed past them as the young man, already dressed in his outer robe, slowly alighted from the carriage and walked over, calmly saying, "It's getting late, let's find a place to stay first."
The climate here is warmer than in other places, with spring-like weather all year round, hence the abundance of snakes and insects, and the continuous marshes.
Exploring the route on your own is likely to lead to losses. The further south you go in the Seven Domains, the more complex and chaotic the terrain becomes. Although Tianchi appears to be a unified country, it is actually divided into various regions, each with its own chieftain and powerful local forces.
However, there are no troublemakers at the moment, and they are happy to have peace.
The area was lush and deep, quiet and still. Giant trees had gnarled roots and their trunks were covered with strands of moss.
"Tianchi is located in the southwest, surrounded by rainforests that remain evergreen year-round." Qiao Yanshen looked around and noticed something moving slightly among the trees. He then remembered something, "Oh, right..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the two boys in front of her had already squatted down by a tree out of curiosity and reached out to pick the wood ear mushrooms on it.
As she picked the wood ear mushrooms, Shen Lixia looked up, her breath caught in her throat, and she sprang to her feet, staggering a few steps backward. Her foot slipped on the moss, and she slid backward, but instead of falling into the damp, warm soil, she landed in someone's arms.
"—Therefore, snakes and insects tend to be large in size."
Qiao Yanshen picked up a strand of the boy's hair with his fingertips, gently wrapped it around, and then helped her steady.
“The notes often say, ‘Unprecedented,’ ‘Its size is enough to devour people and elephants.’”
Her gaze drifted to the spot where the two had just been standing. A thin spider silk reflected light, and below it, a large spider lay on the tree trunk. Its eyes were about the size of a finger, glistening and making one's heart tremble.
Shen Lixia liked these creatures, but she had never seen such a huge type before. It took her a while to recover. Her face was pale. Suddenly, she turned around and did not distance herself from Qiao Yanshen.
Instead, he buried himself in her arms.
Qiao Yanshen: ?
She lowered her voice mischievously, "Ah, Su Jiang is coming over with it. By the way, there are a lot more of these over here, who knows, there might be some larvae just inches from your feet..."
Shen Lixia trembled, her voice trembling with a hint of tears: "Tell her to go far away, I'm afraid of these things."
Were you really scared?
Qiao Yanshen suppressed his mischievous thoughts, patted her back, and his voice finally melted away like ice and snow, becoming gentle again: "Don't be afraid, I'll keep an eye on things for you."
"I don't want to watch," Shen Lixia said in a muffled voice. "It's too scary."
She snuggled closer to Qiao Yanshen, as if trying to curl up into a ball.
Qiao Yanshen chuckled softly, "Then close your eyes, and I'll lead you. Open your eyes again when it's gone."
Shen Lixia responded softly, "Okay."
"Oh dear," Simmons noticed them and teased, "You're afraid of this?! Ahhhhhh, don't come any closer!!!"
She let out a sharp screech and took several steps back. It turned out that Su Jiangzhen in front had caught the spider, holding it in her hand, eager to share it with her. Xi Mengsi dodged in fear, but bumped into a small tree. The branches above shook, and a cold sensation fell on the back of her neck.
Simmons instinctively closed her eyes, trembling. However, the thing that had been on her neck moved closer, staring at her intently the moment she opened her eyes.
It was a small, emerald-green snake. The snake slithered over affectionately and slowly, touched its snout to hers, and hissed as it took her breath.
Simmons' vision went black.
I dared not open my eyes, hoping it was just my imagination.
Chickens flew and dogs barked, drowning out the gradually growing clamor of insects nearby.
Scattered villages encircle the edge of Tianchi Lake like a mountain range. At sunset, they light lamps to ward off snakes and insects. By the time they found a house, the sun had already set. Qiao Yanshen, holding Shen Lixia's hand, caught a praying mantis among the leaves, examined it in his hand for a moment, and then put it back.
She actually didn't think there was anything wrong with it; Shen Lixia's words had indeed hurt her. They had cuddled so many times and kissed so many times, yet she still said she didn't like physical contact.
He was denying her long-held affection. Qiao Yanshen thought to himself, "Junior Sister is certainly quick-witted and very intelligent."
But when he saw her trembling with fear, he softened and only wanted her to rely on him so that he could feel at ease.
Shen Lixia held Qiao Yanshen's hand. Her five senses were keen; the mixed smells and rustling sounds all revealed the richness of life that inhabited this land.
She sighed inwardly.
Fortunately, my senior sister believed her. It seems she acted very convincingly.
Each with their own thoughts, they knocked on the door of that house. It was a bamboo hut, not very spacious, and the person who came to greet them was a young woman. Her sleeves were tightly rolled up, seemingly for ease of work, and she carried a lamp and a sickle for cutting grass.
Seeing her unfriendly expression, before she could speak, Qiao Yanshen smiled and said, "We apologize for disturbing your rest, young lady. We just happened to be passing by. Recently, ghosts and spirits have been rampant, and it's getting late. We're afraid of encountering some evil spirits. May we stay the night?" After speaking, he handed her a bundle of wrapped silver coins.
The young man did not immediately take her money. Instead, he carefully held the lantern, shining it up and down repeatedly, and then checked the other three women one by one, looking at them suspiciously.
Even Su Jiang sensed something was amiss. Shen Lixia found it even stranger—although she had heard that the people here were somewhat hostile to outsiders, why were they so wary of this ordinary family, as if they were fugitives who had crossed mountains and valleys to escape?
Although they do count.
All around was quiet, the heatwave rolled in, swept away the buzzing of mosquitoes, and brushed aside the dense foliage.
After a moment of silence, the young man sighed, his tone still not exactly welcoming, but he turned around and said, "Come in. You can leave the money on the table when you leave."
After the group came in, she locked the door and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
All four of them shook their heads in unison.
Just then, footsteps sounded from inside the room. A person emerged, still sleepy-eyed: "What are you doing up here...?"
She yawned, looked closely, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, you brought back four grown people?"
"No." Seeing that she was dressed in thin clothes, the young man helplessly went over and draped his outer garment hanging on the chair next to him over her. "We were just passing by and came to stay with us for the night. You can continue to sleep, and I will prepare some food for them."
Shen Lixia blinked.
I misunderstood them; they were cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and I even cooked for them.
The young man turned around. "I am Zhao Yu, and this is my wife, Liang Shi. Please sit down and have some water."
Another young man said with a smile, "You've come at a really bad time. Lately, you know..."
Zhao Yu interrupted her, "Don't say such things. These people will be gone soon. Why scare them?" This sentence, however, completely piqued the interest of the group. Combined with her strange attitude earlier, it seemed that there was some connection between them.
Liang Shi obediently shut her mouth and sat down with Shen Lixia and the others. "I'm hungry too. Remember to prepare some for me as well."
After Zhao Yu finished working at the stove, Shen Lixia turned to Liang Shi. She took several bowls and was pouring water for them, then soaking a thin leaf in the water.
"Miss Liang..."
“Call me Sister.” Liang Shi raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking about these leaves? They’re just fragrant leaves, used to add flavor to the water, just like your tea.”
Shen Lixia hesitated for a while, unable to utter a sound, so she simply asked, "What were you trying to say just now?"
Qiao Yanshen added at the opportune moment, "When we first arrived, Miss Zhao seemed quite suspicious, but we don't know why. Has something happened here recently?"
She kept catching insects along the way because she noticed that these insects were unusually large.
Simmons quietly told her that she had been here before, but the insects back then wouldn't have developed to the point where they could be held in two hands; something must have gone wrong.
Liang Shi seemed to have wanted to say this for a while. She glanced furtively at Zhao Yu and lowered her voice, "It's not that she's hostile to outsiders. We're just an ordinary family. But things haven't been peaceful here lately."
"Legend has it that in the ancient times, Tianchi was originally part of the territory of the dragons. The most famous place here, apart from the Dragon Breath Pool where Taiyin Temple is located, is Kunlun Xu, which is said to be the site of the Kunlun Divine Mountain. Since you have come to Tianchi, you must know that Kunlun Xu is a treasure land with auspicious feng shui. Not to mention that the cultivators in the past loved to come here, Taiyin Temple also sent a few people to guard it, hoping that one day it would regain its former glory and become the Jade Capital Spirit Mountain again, nurturing the extinct true dragons."
"However, the cultivators who came here never left; they vanished into thin air. And the guards have also disappeared without a trace. At first, they disappeared, and then one after another, people began to disappear frequently from Tianchi."
Liang Shi shook her head, a hint of regret on her face as she spoke.
"The chieftain held a sacrificial ceremony and divined the will of heaven. In the end, he said that the world was about to be in great chaos and the end of the Dharma era was coming. The sacred mountain had been occupied and polluted by evil spirits. What was being released now was not the dragon god, but all kinds of man-eating monsters, which were lurking among the people."
“I know a family whose daughter was also taken away by evil spirits. For some reason, the Taiyin Temple seems to have weakened considerably and is no longer able to explore Kunlun Mountain. They can only send their disciples to guard various places around Tianchi and patrol every night.”
"Perhaps tonight, some evil spirit will impersonate an ordinary person and knock on our door..."
Liang Shi's furtive, drawn-out tone made it sound particularly eerie.
Just then, a hand tapped her on the head.
Turning around, I saw Zhao Yu holding a bowl with a rice spoon inside, calmly saying, "Time to eat."
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The author's note: "发妻" seems to mean "young wife," so this couple is "young wife and son." Naming isn't that important; I just felt that old terms might cause confusion.
After this part ends, it's time for the snowfield. Realizing it's a very long story, I decided to write it slowly. The Nine Realms arc and everything after that will trace the Four Symbols and their past lives, until they storm the Heavenly Realm (?).
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I've been writing with teacher fyy lately, and seeing that she updates every three days, I've decided to be more diligent, plan my time better, and update in sync with her.
She's been updating so diligently lately, it's so satisfying to watch! [Let me see]
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